-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Efforts to remove cats from Macquarie Island , a sub-Antarctic island and World Heritage Site , have indirectly led to environmental devastation , according to a report published in the Journal of Applied Ecology .

Finch Creek on Macquarie Island in 2007 shows lack of vegetation on the island compared to 2001 ...

The removal of cats has led to a boom in the island 's rabbit population -- another species introduced by humans -- causing widespread devastation to the island 's vegetation .

According to the study 's lead author , Dr. Dana Bergstrom of the Australian Antarctic Division : `` Satellite images show substantial island-wide rabbit-induced vegetation change . By 2007 , impacts on some protected valleys and slopes had become acute . We estimate that nearly 40 percent of the whole island area had changed , with almost 20 percent having moderate to severe change . ''

The removal of the invasive species from Macquarie Island , situated halfway between Australia and Antarctica , also serves as a wider warning about human interference in ecosystems and how good intentions can go awry .

It is a case from which important lessons must be learned , according to the report 's authors .

The scientists behind the study claim that the Macquarie Island is a rare example of so-called `` trophic cascades '' -- the knock-on effects of changes in one species ' abundance across several links in the food chain . As well as species extinction , in extreme cases it can even lead to an ecosystem `` meltdown '' .

`` This study is one of only a handful which demonstrate that theoretically plausible trophic cascades associated with invasive species removal not only do take place , but can also result in rapid and detrimental changes to ecosystems , so negating the direct benefits of the removal of the target species , '' says Bergstrom .

Macquarie Island was discovered in 1810 with the remote island 's seal and penguin population targeted for the fur trade . Cats were introduced to the island soon after to eat rats and mice that threatened to eat the sailors ' grain stores . It was sealing gangs who then brought rabbits to the island in 1878 to give sailors something to eat .

The rabbits provided easy prey for the island 's cats , helping their number to grow , but the rabbit population was also causing catastrophic damage to the island 's vegetation .

Myxomatosis , a disease fatal to rabbits was introduced to the island in 1968 to try and curb their number . It worked at first as rabbit numbers fell from a peak of 130,000 in 1978 to less than 20,000 ten years later and vegetation recovered .

However , with fewer rabbits as food , the cats began to eat the island 's native burrowing birds , so a cat eradication program began in 1985 .

The last cat on the island was killed in 2000 , and Myxomatosis had failed to keep rabbit numbers in check ; their numbers bounced back and in little over six years rabbits substantially altered large areas of the island .

According to Bergstrom : `` Increased rabbit herbivory has caused substantial damage at both local and landscape scales including changes from complex vegetation communities , to short , grazed lawns or bare ground . ''

Bergstrom hopes that the problems facing Macquarie Island are a cautionary tale for conservation agencies : `` Interventions should be comprehensive , and include risk assessments to explicitly consider and plan for indirect effects , or face substantial subsequent cost , '' says Bergstrom .

The cost to remedy the problems of Macquarie Island is estimated at $ 16 million .

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Absence of cats left rabbit population to devastate Macquarie Island 's vegetation

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Cats and rabbits are invasive species introduced to the island in 19th century

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Sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island provides cautionary tale of interventions and risks